So Arsenal will be playing Hulkalicious Porto tonight and while Denilson will finally shed his Carnaval outfit for boots, Porto do not wished to be undermined! Benfica are not sending owls to the Emirates stadium either but who needs them right? Bruno Alves’s hair alone will be in charge of scoring hat-tricks on behalf of Carlos Queiroz. So prepare yourselves, futbolitas!
Said their treinador Jesualdo Ferreira : “I want to put right the fact that Porto have not won in England before – there’s always a first time for everything.”
So basically, Zagallo aka the Man of my amiga’s dreams (seen here with Edmilson) has spoken up about the evergreen issue of The Dinho playing for Brazil. You could honestly walk into the Copacabana beach these days and start yelling Ron’s name at the Caiprinha stand itself.
Anyway, Zagallo thinks The Dinho doesn’t deserve a place in Dopey’s squad. To be honest, homie needs to do his homework because his quotes do not make sense! “He has an excellent technique and his skills also won (him) the Golden Ball but when he played for the selecao, he only played a good game against England (World Cup 2002), including a goal scored by accident.” VOCÊ É GRAVE, Zagallo?!!
Yesssss, friends! We are excited to announce that the Futbolita World Cup will be launched later this week and that we are looking for futbolitas like YOU to come on board. ¿Estás listo? Por supuesto! We’ve got passionate meninas on board (and are looking for more!) so wherever you are – watch this space, grab your flags, footballs, samba floats and get ready to join us!!
Quão brilhante! These fans turned up at full force to watch Brasil play Ireland in London yesterday… and if this isn’t hardcore (ok, that title belongs to the River and Boca fans), then we’re not quite sure what is!
As expected, manos defeated Ireland 2-0 and the goals were thanks to Robinho (although it was deflected and considered an own goal! Poor Keith Andrews, time for some chicken broth, love). As you can tell, tipos were clamoring over themselves to do well as the Copa del Mundo approaches. Adriano also started alongside his amigo in Santos and of course…. fofo Nilmaaaaar himself came in as a replacement for the goalscorer himself later in the game.
This edition of the Selecao Bootcamp was a relatively short one as the guys make their way back to their clubs to play in the domestic leagues. We look forward to more jacuzzi stretching exercises in próximos jogos!
We’re in day two of the Seleção Bootcamp specials… and these manos skipped gym conditioning and went to the Emirates stadium to start work immediately! According to Dopey, the objective was to get the players back to their clubs in ‘fine form’. And if you’re in London and have yet to wrap yourself in a flag at Hotel Dorchester, please sit up AGORA!
The team was divided into two as usual for an 11-a-side match-up yesterday evening , but since there was one extra player, Lucio wore a white vest and was allowed to play for both sides! As a result, whenever he picked up the ball, they started booing him. “Please do not mention who was the worst player on the field today,” joked Kaka. “Today there were so many that you can’t choose (only) one.”
Sadly, the game takes place tomorrow – so tipos won’t be getting into the jacuzzi anytime soon!
fotos de R.Ribeiro
Why so serious, tipo? Worrying about when Dopey will call you up next? Não se preocupe, ele ainda está pensando … and yes, there isn’t much change to the official ‘camisa da selecao’ although Pato claims that it’s a lot lighter in texture. “It really looks good and the body and material greatly facilitates the attacker,” he said. Manos will also be wearing it for the first time next week against Ireland and if you’d like to see the blue shirt, it was launched at Carnaval and looks like this!
Also, our fashion amigos are going to love the fact that this year’s Copa del Mundo jerseys are all made from plastic bottles! Yes, approximately EIGHT bottles were used to make each jersey. How ingenious!
Lastly, the Brazilian press are speculating that Pato looks pissed because he was picked as an ‘emergency option’ for the event in London. Fabulouso, Dani Alves, Adriano and Robinho were not released by their respective teams and feared The Dinho’s appearance would cause a controversy. Esta é a fofoca!
via Nike, Gettyimages, AFP
Take a good look at Hotel Fairway in Johannesburg… because this is where the selecao will be based at during the World Cup! Que magníficoooo.
“It’s the place that comes closest to what the Brazilian team is accustomed to having. We need a place that gives us comfort and privacy,” said Dopey.
Even Tiger Woods would want to make his return to sport after looking at that view of the golf course! But there’s really no need to because these days, he can take his golf club and hop onto the Burro Buggy with Assley Cole.
Oooooh, enfim! The crucial player list for “Seleção Bootcamp: Irlanda” has been announced by both Dopey and Jorginho. If you were rooting for the return of The Dinho, he was kindly ignored so you’d best put back the wig into the cupboard. Basically, Dopey left the poor dude out of his plans completely. No lovelies, we’re not talking about his holiday plans… it’s his World Cup plans! Vá dormir, Dinho … ir dormir .. (go to sleep)
Anyway futbolitas, the usual manos were called up including Kaka, Robinho, Fabulouso, Dani Alves and Elano. Adriano, who is expected to hook up with all the Carnaval dancers this weekend also received the good news, so the Catwalk Club in Rio had better line its VIP area with samba floats. Also, Parabens to Nilmar who received his call up… he too can take namorada Laura out for a nice candlelight dinner tonight! We’re not really feeling Ramires or Kleberson – they’ve both been mediocre at best. Porrr queee??!!
GOALKEEPERS: Julio César (Inter de Milão), Doni (Roma)DEFENDERS : Maicon (Inter de Milão), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Michel Bastos (Lyon), Juan (Roma), Lúcio (Inter de Milão), Luisão (Benfica), Thiago Silva (Milan)
MIDFIELDERS : Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josué (Wolfsburg), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Kaká (Real Madrid), Ramires (Benfica), Elano (Galatasaray), Julio Baptista (Roma), Kleberson (Flamengo)
STRIKERS : Robinho (Santos), Adriano (Flamengo), Nilmar (Villarreal),Luis Fabiano (Sevilla)
“All players have a chance. We analyze and look at options for the group. At present, he (Ronaldinho) is not part of it,” declared Dopey. “There will be no more surprises. If you pause to see, everything we have (achieved) is a result of what has been done far. You (journalists) always want big names. But for us there is no big and small name. Everything we do has a sequence. We can not create problems for ourselves.”
For a complete breakdown of the full selection including each jogador – courtesy of UOL Esporte (including an old-school Internacional Nilmar passport photo)… READ ON, BEBÊS!!!
The Dinho is back! Well, that was what many futbolitas told us excitedly on Twitter and you could be right! A few days ago, we questioned this cara’s ability to make Dopey’s starting XI, which remains an open call, unless you are Uncle Pele – and even he can’t waltz into the training ground of Granja Comary whenever he pleases. TODAVIA, after his Milan hat-trick yesterday, we can officially establish that The Dinho is now working his beachy butt off to make it to South Africa.
Check this out : in their last three games, Milan have scored a staggering 12 goals – 5 of which were scored by the Brazilian. Oooooh, acredito que você pode fazer a seleção? - do you believe you can make the squad? He hasn’t played a part in any of their qualifiers and has been snubbed in recent friendlies. And yes, Dinho’s discipline simply wanes when he’s with the national team. So what’s it gonna be, Bebê?
Also, your favourite Italian Stallion, Sig. Marco Borriello also got his name on the score sheet yesterday. Lovely, we know how this one will be celebrating….
So these days, The Dinho’s form is picking up and everyone – your hamster included – believes there’s good chance he’ll be called up to the selecao. The dude’s still got it in him, of course, but what’s worrying is his fluctuating stamina. Sometimes, he runs like a florist on the way to pick up a basket of Daisies.
“He still likes to party into the night as he celebrated victory over Juventus in a nightclub,” said one Italian journalist, Mattia Fontana. “They said in December that he would be barred from the game against Fiorentina because of one of these escapades. But the game didn’t take place because of bad weather in Italy at that time. In other words, his behavior has not changed, but he found a coach who helped him a lot.”
All The Dinho needs now is consistency and looking at that photo above, probably a shampoo and conditioner from The Body Shop for El Pato’s dry hair. Futbolitas, time to go old school again…
via AP, Globo
Fabulouso is injured, but he’s not letting all that pessimism get to him! Cara over here is supposed to be prepping himself for the Copa del Mundo, but in true Brazilian style, he’s totally laid back and ready to sip your aunt’s piña coladas.
“I feel a little better about my injury. I’m undergoing treatment and it’s going well, because your ankle does not hurt much. I look forward to returning to training (for Sevilla) again, but I have to be tranquil (about it). I can’t give you a return date because I will not lie,” he declared.
Anyway, after all your Samba d’Or votes, our friends at Sambafoot tell us that Fabulouso has indeed won the title of the Best Brazilian Player in Europe of 2009. Bem merecido, Fabulouso! Now it’s time to get a new suitcase…
Oh, meu Deus. Por favor nos ajude! Franz Beckenbauer may have been a football legend etc, but he’s evoking criticism in Brasil for all the wrong reasons. He has accused Dunga and Jorginho aka our cool treinadores of removing the “attacking flair” from the team and said Brasil have transformed into a defensive team instead. Oi Onkel, everyone knows that the selecao’s weakness is its defense, so obviously if the entire backline is thinking of caipirinhas, everyone else has to react. And certainly, you would know Beckenbauer… you were once the world’s best sweeper! Hell, you were the inventor of that position.
“The selection has scored more than 100 goals and conceded 30. I wanted to understand how we are defensive,” said Jorginho. “They made the same criticism in 1994 and Brazil was champion with a team that was strong on defense, but attacking with two sides at the same time. Parreira, who is here, can tell you about it. The same thing is happening this time although some people think the opposite.”
And for old time’s sake… Franz Sinatra is that you?
Check out Jorginho’s intensely confused facial expression there which screams :”Que diabos é Charlize Theron dizendo?” (what the hell is Charlize saying?) Don’t worry, you weren’t the only ones rolling in anguish yesterday during the 192-hour draw proceedings. Grandpa Sepp’s blatant flirting with the linda host was the highlight of the evening. Also, where on Earth was King Pele? He should’ve had his own special segment on stage! How dare they forget about King Pele!
Anyway, the next person to text us with “you’re in the Group of Death” will be strangled with a hot cross bun. Portugal haven’t been that impressive lately (on the brink of not qualifying… and seriously, 6-2 guys?) and as for Ivory Coast, if Drogba wants to dive, then sorry Luisao is going to have to cut that bitch. Do not mess – Brasil is Brasil, at the end of the day, vamos para a próxima rodada.
Also, for an inexplicable reason, Real Madrid made all their World Cup players line-up in a row to take the following photo at the Bernabeu. Dude, Higuain looks like an English gentleman from the 1700-era while Greaseano looks zoned out. Maybe he’s envisioning a separate showdown between Simao’s ass and Luis Fabulouso’s locks next year. Não podemos esperar!
We’re also sad to learn that Dopey has decided to step down as coach of the selecao. Many may have questioned his tactics (and starting line-ups, gah!) but his disciplinarian ways have come a significant way in shaping the current squad. We know all of you want Joel Santana to be the next coach….
Kaka and Dani Alves welcome you to Day 4 of the Brazilian Bootcamp! And you really need to clap your hands at that photo. What on Earth were those two thinking?! They’re putting all of us in the spirit of el clasico next week. Vamos a preparar!
Anyway, manos had another one of their fun Orange Bibs VS Blue Shirts duels yesterday. This time, the laughs went to Julio Baptista and Lucas who were elected Captains of the Orange and Blue sides respectively. Sadly, the men wearing the blue shirts did a lot better and thrashed their compatriots 6-1. Dani Alves was already yelling :” Let’s do more, they are lost! They’re not looking at the ball!” when they were up 4-0. Kaka tried to score a “goal of honour” for his side, but changed his position to that of a “recreational defender” much to everyone’s amusement.
Julio Baptista left the field looking for the worst player in his team. “My vote goes to Kaka!” he yelled.
Anyway, the guys are very happy to be in Oman now to play a friendly in honour of the Sultan’s birthday (he’s turning 69 tomorrow). It will also be the last time the selecao will gather together this year and Fabulouso said : “In particular, it was a very happy year for me. I scored many important goals. I’ll end this year with one more victory.” Added Kaka : “I‘ve been in Qatar (transit), but never actually explored it. It’s a pretty cool experience.”
In today’s installment of the bootcamp….. a year has passed since the selecao last voted for the Brasileirao awards (Ay mi dio, now this is weird!) which recognises the best players in the league. Someone hand Adriano a trophy now….. no, not the sausage eating one! Anyway, after dinner last night, manos were handed pens and sheets of paper which they had to fill in with names of players whom they felt were deserving of a place in the ‘Team of the Year’. Doni looked truly Dazed and Confused, Thiago Silva grinned as he thought about his own win one year ago and someone please tell Robinho that it’s not a lottery ticket he’s filling up….!
Anyway, at training later, the boys were divided into two groups again comprised of the Blue and Orange Bib-wearing sides respectively. No more Captain Kaka VS Robinho shizzle going on this time, but the latter couldn’t resist the urge to poke fun at Kaka when he balanced the ball on his chest (“Kaka! No footvolley, there’s no beach in Madrid!” yelled Robinho). They played a fun mini-game which ended up in a 3-3 draw with Fabulouso netting in the final goal (and Dunga yelling : “There’s 30 seconds to go!!“)
Bom dia, it’s Day 2 of the Selecao bootcamp and the fun has just started! It was muscular therapy yesterday with Senor Paixão at their gym in the Four Seasons Hotel. Hulk and Fabulouso also shared a nice talk about the hotel curtains and you know they’ll be BFF pretty soon! After the gym, caras headed to the Al-Gharafa Sports club to have prawn sandwiches. Kkkkk, just kidding. Dopey divided them into two teams as usual for ball-control exercises and further practise on their finishing techniques.
In the meantime, Juan did not show up with the rest of the selecao due to the request of AS Roma’s president, a fact he “deeply regrets”. Que triste. Also, Fabio Aurelio will not be making his way to Qatar due to a muscle problem. However, Thiago Silva is on his way there asap and will join the team today.
So Dopey officially called up 24 homens for the selecao’s upcoming friendly matches next month. Ooooh yes, we mean that exciting one against England in Qatar on the 14th and the other one against Oman in Muscat. And futbolitas, are you ready for some new names? Say “Bem-vido!” to Porto’s Brazilian sensation, ‘Hulk’ Souza (they call him that because he resembles Lou Ferrigno) who will wear yellow for the first time after shining in the Liga Sagres. The same goes for Fabio Aurelio, whom Dopey is calling up for the first time. You know he was totally impressed while watching Sunday night’s derby and his Scouser of a nephew started yelling at him to ‘pick Fabio!’
Also new to the squad is Lyon’s Michel Bastos, who apparently told Dopey that he’d ‘play in any position’ so long as he got called up to the selecao. Tipo, isso é patético, mas tudo está perdoado! Lastly, Hoffenheim’s Carlos Eduardo – you’ve might not have heard of him – also earned himself a spot in the team. Well, it’s only a friendly so Dopey’s allowed to experiment. And we don’t know about you… but we’re looking forward to this Selecao Bootcamp! Até então …
Goalkeepers : Julio Cesar (Internazionale) / Doni (Roma)
Defenders : Maicon (Internazionale) Daniel Alves (Barcelona) Luisão (Benfica) Lúcio (Internazionale) Juan (Roma) Naldo (Werder Bremen)
Midfielders : Fábio Aurélio (Liverpool) Michel Bastos (Lyon) Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos) Josué (Wolfsburg) Lucas (Liverpool) Felipe Mello (Juventus) Alex (Spartak Moscou) Julio Baptista (Roma) Ramires (Benfica) Elano (Galatasaray) Kaká (Real Madrid) Carlos Eduardo (Hoffenheim)
Strikers : Robinho (Manchester City) Luís Fabiano (Sevilla) Nilmar (Villareal) Hulk (Porto)
After their irmãos lost to Ghana in the painful U-20 World Cup final last week, Lucho Nizzo’s kids are raring to go and win the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria, which kicks off tomorrow! We could probably call them fetos (fetuses) for now, but Coutinho doesn’t look like one, so we’d best find another name.
Anyway, guess who’s coming to help these meninos? Santos wanderkid.. Neymar!
“There’s no doubt the experience we’ve gained with our clubs has been important and has helped us a lot,” he said. “What we have to do now, though, is put all that into practice and help A Seleção win the title back.”
“The players watched almost all of the U-20 team’s matches and I’m sure they realised that in tournaments like that it’s not always the best team that wins,” added coach Nizzo, whose team experienced earthquakes at the last U-17 tournament. “It was a shame Brazil lost (the U-20) but I hope my players were able to take some positive conclusions from it, especially the way that little details can make all the difference in the group phases of competitions like this.”
For old times sake, here’s a video of the 1997 U-17 squad. Enjoy The Dinho’s high-pitched celebratory message!
Estas fotos quebrar nossos corações! In the end, Ghana got their revenge from the 1993 loss… and defeated our meninos in the finals of the U-20 World Cup last night. Even with one man down, the selecao’s multiple shots at goal couldn’t a seal a win in extra time. So it went to penalties and you know nobody really wins those…
“There’s a feeling of sadness. We were better in the match, created more chances, against a strong team,” Giuliano said. “If you look at the whole match, it was an unfair result.”
“I told the players to create chances and they did – we were not able to score today but they’ve done a great job throughout the tournament. When it gets to penalties, there’s nothing you can blame or regret,” said Rogerio Lourenco.
After the game, Alex Teixeira picked up the Silver Ball award while Giuliano won the Bronze Ball. Oh chicas, you can always watch this again to cheer yourselves up!
Aaaaand our hermanos have made it into the finals of the U-20 World Cup! Forget Jesus Luz, the only name you should be screaming today is Alan Kardec! He scored winner against Costa Rica to earn Brazil a spot in the finals against Ghana on Friday. Yes, bebés are in the finals and we’re sure every scout in Europe will be at the game.
“We did well in the first five games, but we did not make a good presentation in the sixth game. To be champions, we will have to play better. But against Costa Rica show, we (showed) how much we want this title,” declared captain Giuliano.
Added coach Rogério Lourenço : “Today, I will not talk about the team’s performance – only about the power of the players to reach the finals of the (tournament). It was our first goal (to get to the finals) and the decision to win it is ours.”
Following yesterday’s post about the much-anticipated “rematch” between the Brazilian Oranjes (led by Kaka yesterday) and Blue F.C (Miranda), the bib-wearing players won 4-0 and Gilberto Silva is the happiest man alive. Jorginho (assistant coach) was part of the winning team and even scored a goal!
Also, yesterday’s session was pretty chill. Tipos should have played monkey or something. It’s such a fun exercise! After the warm-up session led by fitness instructors and Senor Paixão and Fabio Mahseredjian, Dunga and Jorginho made the team do some tactical exercises which ended with repeated dead-ball situations. They’re all ready for Venezuela, so bring it on!
Welcome to Day 4 of O Bootcamp! During dinner last night at the Bahamas hotel, meninos had an interesting conversation about the existing “rivalry” between the orange bib wearing players and the blue shirt ‘regulars’ during training. As usual, Kaka is in charge of the blue team while Miranda has taken over as captain of the Brazilian Oranjes (hehe) for now.
Due to the fact that Joshua and Daniel Alves are no longer in the group (both were suspended for a second yellow card against Venezuela), Kaka and his Blue F.C proposed to allow Miranda’s team to “borrow” a player from them. The choice was left-back Philip. Of course, everyone mocked him, including Kaka. So the table was noisy again, with jokes and challenges. Everyone made noise… except Adriano! He was looking for the tiramisu chef.
“The guys will (study) a way to mark me. They must not forget the three goals that I scored last Saturday at Granja Comary,” declared Gilberto Silva. A rematch is scheduled later today… in true selecao style!
Fotos de R.Ribeiro
The only person who looks ready for this family and class photo is… Andre Santos! Nevertheless, manos failed to secure a win over the Bolivians yesterday… losing 2-1 to them instead. it must have been the altitude! Nilmar scored the only goal for the selecao, but as they say in Brazil, poderia ter sido melhor! No excuses.
“We slept (when) the first goal went in. It’s very complicated … the timing of the ball was impressive. (You) must be a little faster … but it was as an experience,” said Julio Cesar. “I did not jump for the ball. I crouched to see the ball and got no reaction time. If I was standing, I might have seen it.”
Oh well, at least they’ve already qualified. Plus, Kaka, Luis Fabiano and Gilberto Silva were spared from the game due to the altitude risks (now we know who’re the more valued jugadores..). They’re already preparing to face Venezuela and they’d better win!
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